Sex differences in amygdala subregions: evidence from subregional shape analysis
Abstract
Each subregion of the amygdala is characterized by a distinct cytoarchitecture and function. However, most previous studies on sexual dimorphism and aging have assessed differences in the structure of the amygdala at the level of the amygdala in its entirety rather than at the subregional level. Using an amygdala subregional shape analysis, we investigated the effects of sex, age, and the sex × age interaction on the subregion after controlling for intracranial volume. We found the main effect of age in the subregions and the effect of sex in the superficial nucleus, which showed that men had a larger mean radius than women. We also found a sex × age interaction in the centromedial nucleus, in that the radius of the centromedial nucleus showed a steeper decline with age in women compared with men. Regarding the amygdala volume as a whole, we found only an age effect and did not find any other significant difference between genders. The sex difference in the amygdala subregion and its relevance to the circulating gonadal hormone were discussed.
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Prior studies in adults have found sex differences in the shape and volume of amygdala sub-regions and in resting-state functional connectivity of non-limbic brain regions.
“Previous studies in adults have reported sex differences in amygdala sub-region shape and volume (Kim et al., 2011, Kim et al., 2012) and in RSFC of non-limbic brain regions using a variety of analytic methods (Kilpatrick et al., 2006, Biswal et al., 2010, Tian et al., 2011, Casanova et al., 2012, Satterthwaite et al., 2014).”
From Developmental sex differences in resting state functional connectivity of amygdala sub-regions (2015) · cites this paper as Kim et al., 2012
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Developmental sex differences in resting state functional connectivity of amygdala sub-regions
Alarcón, G., Cservenka, A., Rudolph, M. D., Fair, D. A., & Nagel, B. J. (2015) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.04.013 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kim, H. J., Kim, N., Kim, S., Hong, S., Park, K., Lim, S., Park, J.-M., Na, B., Chae, Y., Lee, J., Yeo, S., Choe, I.-H., Cho, S.-Y., & Cho, G.
- Affiliations
- Korea Basic Science Institute (KR)
- Asan Medical Center (KR)
- Kyung Hee University (KR)
- Seoul National University (KR)
- Corresponding author
- Cho, Gyunggoo
- ORCID
- Venue
- NeuroImage
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-05
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 2054-2061
- ISSN
- 1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1975261610
- Cited by
- 40
- References
- 70
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 2.45
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Korea Basic Science Institute (T30403)
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (0023051)
- Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (KRF-2007-511-H00002)
- Ministry of Health and Welfare (A090754)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
- Keywords
- amygdala, sex differences, sexual dimorphism, amygdala subregions, aging, gonadal hormones, brain structure
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Amygdala, Female, Humans, Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Sex Characteristics, Young Adult
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